'Real Housewives of O.C.'s' Heather Dubrow on Peggy's Exit and Friction With Alexis

The new housewife weighs in on the conflict that led to one cast member's departure and how she handles her own relationships on the show.

Michael Rosenthal/Bravo

The women of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County are notorious for “hazing” the new girls. And if their desire is to chase them away, they’ve got a pretty good track record of that too. This season brings us a new pledge: Actress, mother, and plastic surgeon’s wife, Heather Dubrow.

“I think that what’s interesting about me coming into this group is that I feel like I’m a little bit of the audience, sort of the Greek chorus,” Dubrow tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t have any preconceived notions, I have no idea what the history is. So I’m learning it as I go, and seeing it all and, I don’t know, maybe giving the audience a fresh perspective on things and maybe the girls too.”

Heather may not have felt the full force of the O.C. women’s urge to make life difficult for the new gal yet, but she has already taken part in one of its other seasonal traditions: The departure of a cast member.

Peggy Tanous made her exit on this season’s second episode. She complained that the series worsened her bouts with depression, especially her conflict with Alexis Bellino over keeping a former relationship with her husband, Jim Bellino, secret.

“I met Peggy for the first time that night,” Heather says. “And we spoke for maybe a few minutes in the limousine on the way to the party, and then when we left, I think I had my arm around her. I felt bad for her, she was crying, she was in Vicki [Gunvalson's] house. I was obviously very uncomfortable. I didn’t know what was going on. I did not know the back-story between her and Alexis, so I was getting pieces of information. I just felt bad that she was so upset.”

Yet while Heather felt bad for Peggy, she says she couldn’t see herself being in the same position as the former housewife. “That just seems like something you discuss and you move on,” she says.

“I can’t imagine that I would ever be able to stay friends with someone who had had this intimate relationship with my husband,” she continues. “Whether they told me or not, I just think it would freak me out.”

As for her relationship with Alexis, it seems like something they’re both still figuring out. In a recent interview, Alexis said she’d refer to Heather as “buttoned-up” rather than “snooty” or “snobby.” That wasn’t lost on Heather. “Wasn’t saying that kind of saying it?” she asks.

“I would say pretty much I ended up with very nice relationships with a lot of the women, which was very pleasantly surprising to me,” Heather says. “I think that as far as Alexis and I go, I don’t think Alexis has a mean bone in her body, I really don’t. But she has parts of her personality, and she behaves sometimes in a way that I’m not okay with. And because I’m on this show, because you’re sort of required, because it’s the nature of the beast, to say what you’re thinking at any given moment, I’m telling the audience my thought process as we’re going along.”

“So, obviously, that causes hurt feelings, and friction, and all kinds of things,” she adds. “But I think I was very honest in how I dealt with her and with other situations and other women on the show.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.